What Are the Symptoms of Heart Valve Disease?

Symptoms of heart valve disease can include:

Shortness of breath and/or difficulty catching your breath. You may notice this most when you are active (doing your normal daily activities) or when you lie down flat in bed. You may need to sleep propped up on a few pillows to breathe easier.

Weakness or dizziness. You may feel too weak to carry out your normal daily activities. Dizziness can also occur, and in some cases, passing out may be a symptom.

Discomfort in your chest. You may feel a pressure or weight in your chest with activity or when going out in cold air.

Palpitations. This may feel like a rapid heart rhythm, irregular heartbeat, skipped beats, or a flip-flop feeling in your chest.

Swelling of your ankles, feet, or abdomen. This is called edema. Swelling in your belly may cause you to feel bloated.

Symptoms of heart valve disease do not always relate to the seriousness of your condition. You may have no symptoms at all and have severe valve disease, requiring prompt treatment. Or, as with mitral valve prolapse, you may have noticeable symptoms, yet tests may show the valve leak is not significant.

How Are Heart Valve Diseases Diagnosed?

Your heart doctor can tell if you have heart valve disease by talking to you about symptoms, performing a physical exam, and performing other tests.

During a physical exam, the doctor will listen to your heart to hear sounds the heart makes as the valves open and close. A murmur is a swishing sound made by blood flowing through a stenotic or leaky valve. A doctor can also tell if the heart is enlarged or if your heart rhythm is irregular.

The doctor will listen to the lungs to hear if you are retaining fluid there, which shows the heart is not able to pump as well as it should.

By examining your body, the doctor can find clues about circulation and the functioning of other organs.

After the physical exam, the doctor may order diagnostic tests. These may include: